DAILY BRIEF — NOVEMBER 15TH

Sean Hannity, who apparently fancies himself an election official of sorts, has given Roy Moore “24 hours to explains inconsistencies” in his stories or “bow out of the Senate race.”

Hedging his bets, Hannity was sure to let his audience know that he’s still the anti-establishment champion they’ve all come to know and love.

“You know I do not and will never rush to judgment, because we have seen the media and politicians get it wrong so many times,” he said, adding: “For me, the judge has 24 hours. You must immediately and fully come up with a satisfactory explanation for your inconsistencies that I just showed.”

There are two main points of contention giving Hannity pause: Moore’s inconsistent answers regarding the question of dating teenage girls and his blanket denial of knowing a woman for whom he apparently signed a yearbook. Some believe the threat of future advertiser boycotts from his program may also be playing a role in his latest stance, but far be it for me to give him 24 hours to prove otherwise lest I pull my support for his show.

As for the dating teenage girls, frankly, he very well may have. When he said that dating girls *in their late teens* was something he didn’t “generally” remember, I, like Hannity, began to take his answers with heavier grains of salt.

In fact, for sake of this piece and my own outlook of the situation, I’m willing to assume he did. Like it or not, many late-teen girls dated grown men during that time, especially in the South. Fourteen year olds? No, that’s a bridge too far. But it’s not a bridge I’m convinced was crossed. Sixteen and seventeen year olds are a bridge too far for grown men, in my opinion, but I’m not going to pretend that times haven’t changed over the last 40 years in terms of social and cultural norms.

The problem is, it’s easy to take a man’s reputation for flirting with/dating younger women and use it as a political tool. The FACT (those still matter, ya know) is that Moore has been a public figure for decades and his dating life never became a liability until now, and we’re talking about a figure in the heart of the Bible Belt. You know, people who actually believe in God and objective morals.

So, to the extent that Moore dated younger girls, and again, this is an assumption I’m making for the purpose of this piece, it in no way makes him a rapist, which is what he’s being accused of. When you accuse a man of forcefully keeping a young girl inside a car so he can grope her to his satisfaction, you are essentially calling him a rapist. It’s rape in my eyes, anyway.

I’ve asked questions regarding these supposed instances in previous pieces so I won’t rehash them all now, but it’s sufficient to say that a serious cross-examination in a court of law would put these women’s stories in serious jeopardy. That day in court isn’t being afforded to Roy Moore, and that’s wrong. If these accusations had been ongoing for the decades he’s been a well-known figure, my outlook would be different.

But a 40 year old allegation weeks before a Senatorial election that will throw the Establishment into a tailspin? Uh, yeah, pardon me if I maintain a skeptical eye. Hannity may not be satisfied with Moore’s answers regarding dating younger women, but I’m not satisfied with the body evidence accusing him of being a rapist. Sorry Sean, I think you’re taking the bait here.

As to Hannity’s second issue, the yearbook signing, that’s also far from settled. This signature was offered as corroborating evidence for the new Gloria Allred political tool, Beverly Nelson. Moore said he didn’t know the woman, but the yearbook signing suggests otherwise.

One night at the restaurant, Nelson said Moore, 30 at the time, signed her high school yearbook: “To a sweeter more beautiful girl I could not say Merry Christmas. Christmas 1977. Love, Roy Moore, D.A. 12-22-77 Olde Hickory House.”

Ok, folks, once again, we’ve got some questions to ask. I know that there have been people online doing handwriting analyses, but I’m not going that route. I’m not saying those people are wrong, nor that I’m afraid to go that route. I’m aware of those who claim discrepancies in letter stylings and even the types of ink used. I don’t doubt those claims. My uncle is an actual graphologist, for what it’s worth, so I do have a source of expertise should I decide to focus on that aspect of the case. I won’t press him into service, though, because there are other questions that demand answers before we even tackle the technical aspect of things.

First off, this signature is reminiscent of the Don Jr. Russian collusion emails, which is to say they seem tailor-made for this narrative. In the Don Jr. emails, intermediary Rob Goldstone says something to the effect of: “Remember, this is Putin helping your dad because he hates Hillary and America and the fact that CNN is totally right all the time.”

Of course I’m using my own brand of humorous paraphrasing, but you get the point. The setup was obvious. In this case, we have Roy Moore signing a yearbook with his name, location, job title and date. Doesn’t that seem awfully convenient for what Allred is trying to push? I’m not saying this is show-stopping evidence of swampism, but damn if it doesn’t smell like it. I’m surprised Moore didn’t also write, “and remember…I’ll be waiting by the car when you finish your shift.”

Another issue I have is the timing. Who goes around getting yearbooks signed at Christmas? They don’t come out until near the end of the school year, at least where I’m from, hence why they’re called “year” books and not “let’s take pictures of all this stuff before it actually happens” books.

And finally, the question that jumps out to me most, is this yearbook signing was requested at the same time Nelson claims Moore to have been a creepy customer who stalked her almost daily. Nelson says she recalls not only where Moore sat daily, but that she was entirely resistant to his advances. Never mind that she claims to have gotten into a car with this man who’d been trying to force himself on her from a diner booth. Never mind that he supposedly did it while her actual boyfriend would have been en route to bring her home. Those are valid questions, too.

But does a high school girl who’d been stalked and abused by a 30 year old man go out of her way to have him sign her yearbook…..at Christmas? And in the diner that he supposedly made her feel so uncomfortable in day after day? Does any of this make sense?

Look, Mr. Hannity. I respect you and what you do. During this Orwellian era of disinformation and unholy alliance between the media and political class, you have stood with the American people and shown a willingness to go down rabbit holes others will not. For that, I salute you. You’ve done far too much for our movement to be discarded as an Establishment shill over this one issue.

In fact, I’ve done my level best to give your side of things its best case possible. I’m perfectly willing to assume, based on Moore’s wandering answers, that he had a penchant for dating younger women at one point in his life. I can’t prove that, but I’m willing to assume it just for the sake of fairness to your position.

However, that is not what he’s being accused of. Judge Moore is being accused of holding very young girls against their will and sexually assaulting them. Accusations don’t get much more serious than that, and the evidence for *those* claims is flimsy at best, transparently bull**** at worst.

Furthermore, Judge Moore does not have an ultimatum to disprove allegations from 40 years ago. That’s a ridiculous bar that no one could meet. You’re essentially asking him to disprove a negative. Does that sound like a reasonable demand to you?

How about this. The people of Alabama will process the evidence for themselves and decide whether Judge Moore is fit to represent them in the Senate. Neither you or I have anything to say about it, really. We give our opinions, yes, but neither of us are kingmakers. This is America and people vote for their representatives.

I appreciate your service to our movement, Sir, but sorry– the way you’re approaching this issue is dead wrong.

I certainly hope Moore supporters stay by your side when Gloria Allred comes for you.

***CALIFORNIA GUN LAWS FAIL US ONCE AGAIN***

Despite some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, once again some looney toon has managed to get his hands on a firearm and take innocent lives.

“Mom, it’s all over now,” said Kevin Janson Neal, the crazed shooter, to his mother in their final conversation. “I have done everything I could do and I am fighting against everyone who lives in this area.”

It sounds like his first battle should have been popping his mom’s nipple out his mouth. Good God man, you’re 43 years old for crying out loud. My mom handed me a crucifix for good luck before I boarded a plane for deployment and it wasn’t nearly as emotional as this little bitch’s exchange.

There is another marked difference between our respective mother-to-son exchanges, though. Once Neal hung up, he donned a ballistic vest, grabbed a semi-automatic rifle and two handguns and went on a 45-minute rampage across Rancho Tehama Reserve. He killed two of his neighbors, stole their truck and drove around as he randomly picked off his targets in seven locations en route to the Rancho Tehama Elementary School.

By the grace of God, he was not able to carry out his spree at the school.

Witnesses report that once he stopped firing at random people in the area, including the witnesses themselves, he continued toward the school, where staffers heard the gunshots and made a critical decision to lock the building down.

“The quick action of those school officials, there is no doubt in my mind, saved countless lives,” said Tehama County Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston.

Neal tried to enter the school, but couldn’t get in as he unleashed 30 rounds before taking off. Sadly, the countless shots he took towards classrooms did result in one injury: 6 year-old Alejandro Hernandez. A cousin of the little boy says he incurred wounds to the legs and chest, but is miraculously expected to survive. Thank God.

A short time after his failed attempt to enter the school, a police patrol car rammed Neal’s vehicle before officers opened fire and saved taxpayers a lifetime of food and shelter money.

By then, this #EvilLoser (that’s literally what he is) had left 4 people dead and 10 injured.

Sheriff Johnston said Neal’s motive appeared to be to exact revenge on his neighbors.

“And when it got that far, (he) went on a rampage … He was driving up and down the street shooting at passersby,” Johnston said.

Basically, this was all started as a dispute with his neighbors and, once the proverbial poop hit the fan, he went all out nuts. Authorities would not say exactly where the man opened fire in the area, but said it was spread across seven crime scenes that included the local elementary school about two miles from where the rampage began. At one point, officials said, the shooter returned to Bobcat Lane with the truck, but crashed it and then carjacked a sedan and continued his assault.

Several of his shots struck a vehicle carrying a woman and her three children. The mom was severely injured along with one of her sons, though his wounds aren’t considered life-threatening. An update on the mother’s condition has not been updated since yesterday, when she was deemed critical. She has no apparent connection to the shooter.

Apparently, Neal, whose mother says was a pot farmer, was angry with the meth-cooking habit of his neighbors, which he believed was harming his nine dogs. He had also been arrested and charged with assault against a female neighbor with a steak knife.

What’s most frustrating is Neal’s sister, Sheridan Orr, says he’s been a nutjob for a while now and had no business owning guns of any kind. She said that her brother had long struggled with mental illness and that he would get paranoid and speak of government conspiracies. She said he was also known to have sudden episodes of unwarranted anger.

“It’s like he had been possessed and he would often not remember or he’d feel so horrible about what he had done,” Orr said. “One day he got mad at me because of the way the washing machine sounded.”

Sadly, this is yet another reminder that no matter how many laws are passed, evil will find a way to slip through the cracks. California had this man’s behavior on record. His criminal history should have precluded him from gun ownership, but it didn’t matter. It rarely does.

He was stopped by smart thinking and good guys with guns (and a car, incidentally). In a perfect world, I wouldn’t be bringing this up at all right now. It’s nauseating to politicize tragedies while cadavers are still warm. But the truth is this is another incident that will be used by the anti-gun lobby as an excuse to infringe on our second amendment rights, so the pushback must begin immediately. It’s not fun to wrestle in the mud, but it is (sadly) necessary.

Names of victims are being withheld pending next of kin notification. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. Thank God this incident wasn’t worse than it already is.

***PLUG THOSE LEAKS, KEEBLER JEFF***

Leaks are typically a very hard thing to track and prosecute, but if there’s a way, it appears the Trump DoJ is determined to find it.

It was revealed that a total of 27 investigations into classified leaking have been launched under the Jeff Sessions Justice Department, which is an astronomical rise even from the Obama administration, who pursued leakers aggressively. Then again, there is a much bigger problem with leaks under the Trump administration, so let’s keep in perspective that this is more reaction than action.

“We had about nine open investigations of classified leaks in the last three years. We have 27 investigations open today. We intend to get to the bottom of these leaks. I think it…has reached epidemic proportions. It cannot be allowed to continue and we will do our best effort to ensure it does not continue,” Keebler told the House Judiciary Committee yesterday.

I was hesitant to report this story because, frankly, it should be a no-brainer. I mean, the Trump administration has been leaking like no other since the day he took office and even before. It should be expected that a record number of investigations are underway.

There is more to it, though, and that’s why this is worth reading.

After yesterday’s congressional testimony in which Rep. Jim Jordan rightfully grilled AG Sessions on his inaction regarding the crimes of Barry, Hillzdawg and the entire Clinton, Inc. family, there has been much rage online and elsewhere regarding Sessions’ perceived weak response.

He responded to Jordan’s grilling by saying that a special counsel, if appointed, would be done on a factual basis and not just appearances. I can see why this would enrage so many. What Sessions calls “appearances,” Trump supporters refer to as “obvious guilt.” So the question immediately arises:

What the hell is Jeff Sessions doing as head of the DoJ, if even obvious corruption cannot be addressed?

I realize that this response may be scoffed at or dismissed out of hand by the (justifiably) skeptical among us, but the answer is pretty straightforward: we don’t know. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

The issue of leak investigations is a perfect example of what I mean. See, on the surface, the purpose of these investigations is pretty cut and dried. Classified information was leaked. The government wants to find out who did it and prosecute them. Easy peezy Japa-neezy, right?

Actually, no. Things are often much more complicated.

See, these leaks aren’t incidental. As we’ve discussed in previous briefs, the media routinely work hand in hand with the political class to release information beneficial to the swamp. It could be said, without much hyperbole, that the American media are little more than the propaganda arm of the DC establishment. It’s with this in mind that we must consider not only the scope of the leaks investigation, but how it relates to “exactly what the hell Jeff Sessions is doing” up there in the Justice Department.

The fact is, if you follow these leaks, they lead to much bigger issues. Remember, Barry’s Ambassador to the U.N., Samantha Power, read the communications of Trump campaign members daily. Yes, literally daily. The number of times she requested the unmasking of Trump campaign members averages out to once per workday.

And remember, although it’s yet to be proven (but will be, I promise), the pee-pee dossier was used to obtain a FISA warrant to conduct the surveillance that delivered those communications to Power’s door. From there, leaking began, from official to official, agency to agency and eventually, the government lapdog media.

BOTTOM LINE: The very act of pursuing these leaks entails getting to the heart of corruption within the Obama administration. One can’t even begin down that rabbit hole without ultimately ending up in Barry’s Oval Office.

Folks, there is a LOT of corruption from the last several years (and longer) and thus a LOT of investigating to do. And there are no fewer than three congressional committees investigating Clinton as we speak. Do I have much faith in Congress? No, not really. But I do have faith in Donald J. Trump, who would kiss Rosie O’Donnell on the mouth before he allowed his mortal enemies to have the last word. And you best believe that Barry Obama is his mortal enemy.

This talk about a special counsel, in my not-so-humble opinion, is far overblown. It makes for good political theater, but will have no bearing on the facts that come out. Do you think President Trump is waiting in the Oval Office with his fingers crossed praying that Keebler Jeff appoints a special counsel so the truth will finally come out? Get real. The real fun started when Devin Nunes took a trip to the White House and returned with a classified folder. The issues we all care about have been on the table for a while now, and no one wants to get to the bottom of them more than Trump himself.

These opinions may make me unpopular or even ridiculed, but I couldn’t care less about popularity contests. I care about being right.

Come back in a couple months and let’s see whose answers are most popular.

***REPUBLICANS STILL PISSING EVERYONE OFF ON TAX REFORM***

My headline here, while accurate, is a bit misleading, or at least incomplete. Republican lawmakers are indeed pissing many people off, but much of this anger stems from either ignorance, partisanship or both. That’s not to say the GOP tax bill is manna from Heaven. It has many flaws. But the GOP also finds itself in the unenviable position of being damned if they do and/or don’t.

The latest headlines come from Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), who released a modified version of the Senate tax bill late yesterday that includes two key changes: the previously announced elimination of the BarryCare individual insurance mandate and a sunsetting of individual tax rates in 2025. The former is obviously popular among conservatives, while the latter has spawned many side-eyed looks.

The sunset clause in Hatch’s “modified mark” would mean the new individual rates in the Senate bill would end 10 years after their creation. This instantly lends itself to Democrat talking points, mainly that the GOP care about big business but not the little guy who works for them. If the GOP truly care about the little guy (they don’t, for the record, but that doesn’t make Democrats correct in this instance), then why do individual cuts expire after ten years while the corporate cuts are here to stay? It’s a reasonable question.

The answer is process, which is sure to make your eyes bleed. It would solve a key problem in the Senate, which would have to prevent the overall tax bill from adding to the deficit after 10 years to make the new individual tax rates permanent — and use special budgetary rules to pass the package with a simple-majority vote and prevent Democrats from using a filibuster. In lay man terms, they’re trying to solve the problem of not adding to the deficit while also getting the bill done with 51 votes rather than 60.

Hatch’s modifications also include several provisions aimed at helping the middle class and shoring up support from GOP senators. These include increasing the child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,650 in the original bill and further lowering some of the individual tax rates. Sens. Lil Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) have been pushing for a larger child tax credit expansion.

As I said, folks, this thing is going to change a million times before it’s said and done.

The modified mark would also allow 529 college savings plans to be used to save for unborn children in years before 2026. The House’s tax bill has a similar provision, though it doesn’t have a sunset date.

Hatch’s modifications also include denying businesses a deduction for settlements related to sexual harassment or sexual abuse that involve nondisclosure agreements. This change comes amid a growing number of allegations against high-profile figures. In other words, there are too many touchy-feely folks around these days and the government doesn’t care to subsidize it. Nothing like bad press to get politicians moving.

And it appears that alcohol industry have been getting lots of bang for their lobbying buck, as the modified mark would reduce alcohol-related taxes. The booze folks have been pushing for changes in this area for a while now and it appears their efforts are finally bearing fruit. That fruit better not come anywhere near my beer, though (I’m looking at you, Blue Moon).

Members of Finance Committee will consider Hatch’s modifications as part of the tax bill’s markup, which is continuing as we speak. Committee members have also filed hundreds of amendments, though not all of them will be debated during the markup. Who knows what the hell those entail. I do know the lower taxes on alcohol will come in handy for me once I finish writing about them, though.

The Finance Committee is expected to approve the tax bill by the end of the week, and the Senate is expected to consider the bill on the floor the week after Thanksgiving.

Separately, the House is expected to approve its own tax package tomorrow. Most of the tax cuts in the House bill do not sunset, though a $300 “family flexibility” credit would expire after five years.

Want some good news? The repeal of the Barry individual mandate repeal doesn’t sunset, either! So hey, don’t say I never told you anything good.

There is good and bad in this tax legislation, insofar as we have legislation to discuss. The sausage-making has been especially hideous this go-round, but I do have hope that whatever they come up with will be whatever we have now.

And frankly, at this point, that’s a victory.

There it is, homeskillet. You know the drill: questions, comments, concerns, memes, insults, compliments, stickers, jokes, emojis and, if we have time, complaints.

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5 thoughts on “DAILY BRIEF — NOVEMBER 15TH”

I especially like your comments about Sean Hannity’s “deadline” for “satisfactory” answers from Roy Moore. I don’t think I’ve ever been P.O.ed by Hannity before. With so much at stake with our numbers in the Senate, why would he choose this questionable, 40 year old hill to die on? He’s really full of himself if he now sees himself as a kingmaker.

Not to mention to ask to disprove a negative is to engage in basic logical fallacy. Personally, I think he believes the establishment is going to win this battle and he seems himself going down with the Moore ship. It seems like a selfish move to me. Then again, he’s the millionaire and I’m the blogger. Still disappointing though.

Many people praised Hannity’s interview with Roy Moore. They stated that Hannity’s questioning showed Roy had something to hide. . He has let his ego get in the way of common sense. I am so disappointed in him.